BEVERLY HILLS—On Sunday, January 12, the 71st Annual Golden Globes were held at the famed Beverly Hilton Hotel and the stars were out in full-force at the event. Taking home the prize for Best Motion Picture-Drama was the movie “12 Years a Slave,” which received a standing ovation from the audience. Director Steve McQueen was bit overwhelmed while accepting the night’s big prize, but it was indeed a shock as I wasn’t expecting it. The night’s big winner was the movie “American Hustle,” which took home three awards including Best Picture-Musical or Comedy. So its obvious the Oscar race lies between “12 Years a Slave” and “American Hustle.”

The lavish event got off to a rough start as a sewage pipe burst on the red carpet, just as celebs began to arrive. The ceremony was hosted by funny ladies Tina Fey “30 Rock” and Amy Poehler “Parks and Recreation” who did a stellar job at the 2013 ceremony. Were the ladies able to strike magic a second time around? Let’s just say things were just as funny, if not funnier than the first go around. Plenty may be asking why that is? Well it’s because Fey and Poehler have stellar comedic timing and the chemistry they share can’t be duplicated; it works effortlessly. The ladies opened the ceremony by poking fun at movie titles, and how Hollywood continues to repeat itself.

They even discussed the status of star caliber from Robert Redford to Meryl Streep, and made Matt Damon feel like a garbage man. Poehler and Fey even poked fun at themselves, they even addressed the fact that Julia Louis-Dreyfuss decided to step into the movie world outside of the television world. The joke on George Clooney and “Gravity” was hilarious to say the least. “The Wolf of Wall Street” took a few jabs from the ladies and Jonah Hill was a butt of a few of those jokes also. The “Scandal” joke was also an unexpected hit that was funny to say the least. To see Tina Fey dressed as a guy for Mr. Golden Globe was indeed a hilarious moment, as Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick introduced Ms. Golden Globe.

The Best Director race was indeed a competitive race to say the least, but in the end the Hollywood Foreign Press gave the award to Alfonso Cuaron “Gravity.” This indeed sets up one of the most interesting Oscar races in my opinion, as the race is wide open with so much talent.

Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama went to Matthew McConaughey for his transformative performance in “Dallas Buyers Club.” Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama was a shoe-in for Cate Blanchett for her stellar work in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.” She will indeed be a tough cookie to beat this awards season.

The Golden Globe for Actor and Actress in a Musical or Comedy went to Leonardo DiCaprio “The Wolf of Wall Street” he poked fun of himself winning for a comedic performance and thanked director Martin Scorsese for his past work as an influence on his work as an actor.

Amy Adams won for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her work in “American Hustle.”  It is so nice to finally see Adams garner some accolades for the stellar work that she has been delivering for years in this industry. She cried on stage while accepting her award and thanked David O. Russell for writing this incredible role for her.

In the Supporting Actress race, it was a dogfight between Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong’o, but the Hollywood Foreign Press gave the award to Ms. Lawrence for “American Hustle” who was shocked by the win and genuine during her acceptance speech. For Supporting Actor, many speculated and were accurate with the prediction that Jared Leto “Dallas Buyers Club” would take the prize for his transformation in the picture portraying a transgender character that literally drives the heart of the picture in my opinion.

Best Foreign Film went to “The Great Beauty,” while Best Screenplay was awarded to Spike Jonze for his corky film “Her.” Disney’s “Frozen” continues its domination this year winning the prize for Animated Film. The Cecil B. DeMille Award was given to director auteur Woody Allen. Allen is indeed a genius as an actor, writer and director. The award was accepted on behalf of Oscar-winner Diane Keaton who worked with Woody on the classic “Annie Hall.”

On the television side of things, “Breaking Bad” took home the prize for Best Drama, and star Aaron Paul had a memorable speech with “Yeah, B**ch!” As only the character, Jesse could do best. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine“ took home the award for Best Comedy, indeed another surprise that was not expected.  Looks like “Modern Family’s” reign in the comedy category may be over.

Bryan Cranston was a shoe-in for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his work in “Breaking Bad” and took home his first win. While the race for Lead Actress was a competitive one, in the end it was Robin Wright for “House of Cards” who took home the prize.

Best Actress in a Comedy Series went to Amy Poehler. This was indeed a shocking win that was well worth the wait. So many had expected Julia Louis-Dreyfuss to win for “Veep,” but the comedy category was full of surprises this year, as Best Actor went to Andy Samberg “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

Supporting Actress in the TV category went to an emotional Jacqueline Bisset “Dancing on the Edge” who could barely speak while on stage. Best Mini-Series or TV Movie went to “Behind the Candelabra,” while Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie was awarded to Elisabeth Moss “Top of theLake.” Jon Voight won the award for Best Supporting Actress in Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.” Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie went to Michael Douglass “Behind the Candelabra.”

With the Golden Globes now behind us, all of the attention now focuses on unpredictable Academy Awards, which will be announced on Thursday and the Screen Actors Guild Awards to be held on Saturday, January 18. While the Golden Globes are a small precursor to what is to come, they are not a solid indicator of where the rest of the rest of the shows will fall.  Until 2015 Golden Globes!

By LaDale Anderson